1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of interactive television systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for personalized remote control of an interactive television system.
2. Description of Related Background Art
Interactive television (ITV) systems are steadily growing in popularity. However, as users demand additional features, ITV systems are also increasing in complexity. As a result, remote controls used with these systems are likewise becoming increasingly complex. For example, a standard ITV remote control may include fifty or more individual buttons or controls.
Typically, a remote control for an ITV system includes many buttons that a consumer never or rarely uses. The inclusion of such buttons increases the overall complexity of the remote control and decreases its usability.
In general, consumers use only a subset of the buttons on a remote control. Moreover, different consumers use different subsets. For example, one person may enjoy surfing the Web, while another person may enjoy channel surfing. In each case, the unused buttons are distracting, cumbersome, and diminish the usability of the remote control.
Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to reduce the number of buttons on a remote control, without limiting the remote control's functionality. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide users with separate, personalized remote controls, each of which may be configured to perform different functions for each button. Similarly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a single remote control, which may be easily reconfigured to perform different functions depending on the currently-active user.